The Onion explains how to satirize Vice President Mike Pence

Vice President Mike Pence sat stoically during a heated meeting in the Oval Office between President Trump and senior Democratic congressional leaders. His posture didn't go unnoticed on Twitter.
USA TODAY

Vice President Mike Pence has denied authoring a recent anonymous opinion column published in The New York Times that criticizes Present Trump. Pence is known for using the word "lodestar," mentioned in the piece once.(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — After Donald Trump chose Mike Pence as his running mate in 2016, the satirical website The Onion published an "infographic" of Pence with this entry:

"Little-Known Fact: All."

Because Pence did not have a national profile before becoming vice president, the jokes made about him in publications and websites such as The Onion and on late-night talk shows could have more of an effect on his public image than, for example, political humor targeting Trump.

Chad Nackers, editor-in-chief of The Onion, talked to USA TODAY about the website's take on Pence.

Question: How does your approach to writing about Pence compare with how you handled Joe Biden?

Answer: We don’t go against take with (Pence). He’s kind of a religious zealot, so we kind of dive into that a little bit more. Whereas Biden’s character, Diamond Joe, was very different from how Joe Biden is in real life. He’s very studious and serious.

Sometimes we do a character where it’s against their very nature. But I feel like, during this time when the truth has lost some of its meaning, to be authentic you can’t treat Pence like he’s off womanizing. Instead, we have to play into what he does to stop himself from doing those type of things. Like being uncomfortable being with Mrs. Butterworth on the table when he’s not with his wife.

Q: Why are there so many jokes about Pence being religious, prudish, homophobic?

A: I think it’s because he’s made a political career out of those things. He hasn’t been sheepish about stating those opinions. If anything, he’s the most traditional target in the Trump administration just because it makes sense. This is his belief system, and you’re being hyperbolic about that belief system. Versus (with) Trump, hyperbole does not work for him because Trump is a human incarnation of hyperbole. And I’m using `human' loosely.

Q: Is there a danger of going too far with jokes about Pence's religion?

A: Pence does kind of present himself as like a puritan minister from the 1780s. We do stories where he’s horrified that the D.C. cherry trees are displaying their reproductive organs right in front of everybody. ... A lot of those jokes are (about how) getting really offended about stuff is really useless.

Q: Is Pence easy or hard to make jokes about?

A: I don’t think you can just crank them out. They’re a little bit more challenging. They require more research to find angles to hit.

I feel like I haven’t heard from Pence in months. Occasionally you hear he’s voting on things. He’s kind of the invisible vice president. I assume he’s in hiding or something.

Q: Do you think your satire affects the public image of Pence?

A: I think the public does have an image of who he is. He projects a pretty strong character of, `This is what I’m about.' For us, we can just chip away at that and show the absurdity of some of those viewpoints.

Q: If Pence replaced Trump, would that make your job easier or harder?

A: At this point, any normal politician is going to make our jobs easier. In a way, Trump can be satire proof because he’s constantly raging on line, on Twitter. … It’s never very fun to start with an absurd situation and then try to make that funny.